Putin arrives in Turkey, meets with Erdogan

Istanbul—Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Istanbul on Monday, an official said, on his first trip to Turkey following a crisis sparked by the shooting down of a Russian war plane over Syria last November, media reported.
He is due to hold talks with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and to attend an energy congress during the one-day visit.
The pair have met on two occasions since a June deal to normalize ties after the plane crisis — in Putin’s home city of Saint Petersburg and then on the sidelines of the G20 in China.
Putin is due to address the opening day of the World Energy Congress followed by talks with Erdogan inside the Ottoman-era Yildiz Palace from 1500 GMT. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti on Sunday that the meeting of the two leaders will focus on restoring Russian-Turkish relations “in all aspects.”—Agencies